Rollers in New Westminster are getting a chance to prove they’ve got what it takes to compete.
The Royal City Rollers girls basketball club is now part of the Vancouver Girls Basketball Association’s fall pre-season league. The senior division tipped off last weekend with games, played in Vancouver, continuing every Saturday night until Nov. 8.
The local club was founded last year by Stephen Bruyneel and Jim Butts in an attempt to offer girls an opportunity to hone their skills on the court outside of the school setting. All the girls in the club, the majority of whom are in Grade 10, play basketball for New Westminster Secondary, so when the chance to play in the Vancouver-based pre-season league came up this year, the girls jumped at it, Bruyneel said.
“Up until now, we have only been a practice team, but when this opportunity came up, the girls wanted to try and take advantage of it as a way to prepare for the upcoming school season,” Bruyneel said in a media release.
The hope is that by joining this league, the girls will get a chance to work on their skills against other senior teams in the area in time for the beginning of the high school basketball season, which starts in mid-November, he added.
“Our goal is to have fun and try to apply what we learned over the summer at our shooting and ball-handling practices,” Bruyneel said.
This Saturday, Oct. 10, the hometown girls take on the Red Devils.
Queen’s Park hosts cycling event
Cyclocross enthusiasts will descend on New Westminster this weekend for the Queens CX race.
The event is one of seven cyclocross races, a muddy, off-road, trail-style bike race, across the Lower Mainland this fall presented by Vancouver Cyclocross Coalition.
Saturday’s event gets started at 10:30 a.m. with the Beginner C races, which include novice men, novice women, as well as u15 and u13, followed by Elite A races, including the elite men’s 60-minute race, elite women and master men for 40+. At 1:15 p.m. the Intermediate B races, including intermediate men and women, single-speed racers, and u19 and u17 races, get started.
There will also be a chance for young riders to show off their skills during the 45-minute kids’ race starting at 12:45 p.m.
Brew Ha Ha at the curling club
There’ll be a barn yard party over at the Royal City Curling Club on Saturday.
The second annual Barn Yard Brew Ha Ha invitational bonspiel runs all day with games at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The event is hosted by the Pigs on Tour curling club and this year includes 12 teams.
